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US Delegate at 50th anniversary celebration of the raid in Moncada Barracks, Santiago, Cuba
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I and seventy other U.S. youth and students arrived in Havana on July 23 as the Youth United Delegation to the Third US / Cuba Youth Exchange. Part of a larger group of around 300 Americans, the Youth United delegates traveled to Cuba to learn as much about this small socialist island as we could in one short week. Even more importantly, we came to show that despite the U.S. blockade against Cuba, the peoples of the two countries will continue to work together toward common goals.
Cracks of lightning split the faraway clouds as we got off our plane at José Martí International Airport. Looking across the broad runway, I could see a haze of showers on the horizon. We were excited, confused, and tired, and we were in Cuba. Some of us had for years looked to Cuba as an example of a more humane society. Some of us barely knew the first thing about the country and its revolutionary history. For all of us, the next week would give the phrase “learning experience�? a whole new meaning.
The UJC of Cuba (Unión de Jóvenes Comunistas—Young Communist League) and other Cuban youth organizations hosted the Youth Exchange and scheduled for the delegates an itinerary full of discussions, tours, and celebrations. We spent time in Havana, Santiago de Cuba, and Guantanamo, and met with students, soldiers, social workers, doctors, artists, and elected officials.
Everywhere we went we were treated like visiting dignitaries, with gala events in our honor and food and music greeting us at every stop. Our big tour buses were a curiosity rolling through the tiny Cuban villages, and little kids flashed us smiles and peace signs. No one we met would let us forget the importance of our visit. Francisco Cendejas, a Youth United delegate from San Marcos, CA, put it this way: “I never received any impression from people there other than sincere gratitude that we were coming to Cuba to see it with our own eyes.�?
July 26: A Historic Day
Every July 26 Cubans celebrate the anniversary of an attack on the Moncada barracks, the beginning of the Cuban Revolution. We were lucky enough to be present for the 50th anniversary of this historic event. The night before July 26, the 300 Youth Exchange delegates were special guests at neighborhood block parties in the city of Santiago de Cuba, the site of the famous 1953 raid.
We got off the bus and walked into the dimly lit central patio of an apartment block, full of people dancing, eating, and laughing. Little flags hung everywhere on the tropical vines and trees, and beautiful, complex displays celebrating local neighborhood history and the heroes of the Cuban Revolution surrounded the square. Some of us—probably those without as much confidence in our footwork—hung back from the crowd, but the neighborhood celebrants pulled us in, and soon everyone was exchanging names and dance moves.
It’s important to mention that the little parties, and our generous welcome, came from the Cuban block associations know as the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution. Democracy in Cuba, we learned, starts from the grassroots up: the Cuban people have organized themselves into these local organizations that share communication and political education at the local level.
The next day, we zoomed out from these microcosms of the Revolution to the big picture—the national celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Moncada raid. About 10,000 people, including delegations similar to ours from Mexico and Venezuela, gathered in front of the barracks—now a museum—to see cultural performances and speakers.
The red and black T-shirts in the audience formed a giant flag of the July 26 Movement, the organization which led the Cuban revolution. Behind us, old men and women wearing medals from the Revolution chanted ‘Cuba Sí, Bloqueo No!’ (Cuba yes, Blockade no!) and ‘Fidel, amigo, el pueblo está contigo!’ (Fidel, friend, the people are with you!) as they greeted the Cuban President Fidel Castro. When he spoke, in a rumbling, resonant voice, he described the many ways conditions have improved for ordinary people in Cuba since the revolution. Of Cuba’s position in the world, he said, “Today, great battles are being waged in the area of ideas, while confronting problems associated with the world situation, perhaps the most critical to ever face humanity.�?
U.S. delegate Molly Kelley, a member of the Young Communist League from Iowa City, Iowa was thrilled to be there: “Even though I didn’t understand a word he said, it felt so historical – to see a figure like that alive and doing his thing.�?
Even though the U.S. government imposes a cruel blockade on Cuba, keeping vital resources from reaching the island and damaging the Cuban economy, people at the Moncada cheered when they saw our delegation marching with the U.S. flag. Later, the leader of the Cuban Federation of Students told us that the U.S. flag has never been burned by Cubans, because it is seen there as a symbol of the American people’s many historic struggles for freedom.
“Though we were Americans, coming from a hostile country,’ said Kelly. “We were shown complete hospitality and respect. Cubans separate the actions of the U.S. government from the spirit of its people. The people there are willing to work with us against our common enemy: capitalism, privatization, big corporations.�?
The Miami Five: Solidarity in Action
Solidarity is more than just feelings of respect and brotherhood. Solidarity is also expressed through action. A powerful message that many of us on the delegation took home from the trip is that as U.S. citizens, we can play a big part in changing U.S. policy toward Cuba. One immediate struggle is the fight to release the five Cubans held unjustly in jails around the U.S. In Cuba, the Miami Five, as they are known, are household names and national heroes.
While in Cuba, the Youth United delegation held a meeting with Irmita Gonzalez, daughter of Rene Gonzalez, one of the prisoners. She explained to us that not only is her father innocent of the U.S. government’s charges, he and the other four prisoners were arrested while fighting against terrorism and for peace between nations.
Cuba is a country constantly under attack from U.S.-sponsored terrorist groups operating out of Florida. These groups are tolerated by the U.S. government, despite the supposed war on terrorism currently being waged. The Miami Five are Cubans who were living in Miami and keeping an eye on one of these groups and reporting their activities to the U.S. government to help prevent the kinds of hijackings and bombings that have killed thousands of innocent Cubans over the years.
Irmita and all the prisoners’ relatives who met with us kept coming back to one point: that American public opinion holds the key to freeing the Five, and that U.S. youth like us have the power to bring them justice.
Tanwi Islam, a Youth United delegate from New York City, says that solidarity works in two directions: “The problem of political prisoners is international. Winning freedom for the five is part of the struggle for civil rights in the U.S., and part of fighting the prison-industrial complex.�?
A Visit with “Che�?
On our way back to Havana from Santiago de Cuba, the delegation stopped in the town of Santa Clara to visit the Ernesto “Che�? Guevara Memorial. When we stepped out onto the wide marble plateau where Che’s statue stands, the sun was shining and a light wind was starting up. A woman handed me a white lily. Che’s farewell letter to Fidel, carved into the rock, told in Spanish of “the most sacred of duties: to fight against imperialism wherever it may be.�?
We photographed the statue, and started walking down the stairs to the mausoleum that holds the remains of Che and his comrades who fell in Bolivia. People who had been giggling or yawning seemed somber and peaceful all of a sudden. As the wind blew harder and harder, I walked into the tomb and placed my lily on the floor before the wall carved with the dead fighters’ faces.
When I stepped out again, the storm had come for real. It was a hard, sideways blanket of rain, and we were getting drenched, slipping and sliding all over the marble. Some women were dancing, falling, and getting up to dance again. When I looked up, straight up to the top of the memorial, Che was still standing there, gazing out through the rain. I thought of the slogan used by so many activists: “A better world is possible.�? It occurred to me that Che was looking at that world, that future.
During the ten-day delegation, we also visited, schools, universities, hospitals and women’s organizations. There were far too many wonderful experiences and lessons to share in this article. Needless to say, every delegate had a wonderful time and felt energized to return to the U.S. and build the movement for Cuban solidarity.
Just the Beginning
The Third U.S. Cuba Youth Exchange came at a vital time. These days, U.S. officials speak openly about overthrowing Cuba’s government, and use the U.S. Interests Section in Havana as a base for activities against the Cuban people. The Bush administration is under the illusion that it can forcefully turn the clock back on the Cuban Revolution, returning the country to its old position under the boot of American business interests.
Delegate Islam says one of the most important parts of the trip was bonding with other delegates. “You feel like you’ve made a real connection with so many people, from all different backgrounds.�? Kelley calls the trip, and the people she met, “an inspiration to work harder to achieve revolution in our own country.�? And Cendejas, who plans to return to Cuba soon, believes that “our most important job is to spread the truth based on what we’ve seen first-hand in Cuba.�?
Cuba was the first country to offer condolences to the American people after the September 11th attacks. And Cuba has stood firm in its principles, supporting the Afghani and Iraqi peoples against the U.S. pre-emptive wars on those countries.
But we too can stand for Cuba. The 300 Youth Exchange delegates came from colleges, high schools, and workplaces in 23 different states. The Youth United Delegation has promised to keep in touch, forming a web of solidarity that stretches across the country. Working locally, and maintaining our national connections, we can make our trip to Cuba into a powerful weapon against the U.S. blockade.
The translation of Fidel’s July 26 speech at:
http://www.granma.cu/ingles/2003/julio/lun28/
30fdisc.html
For more info on the Miami Five, see:
http://www.antiterroristas.cu
http://www.freethefive.org
Keren Wheeler is a member of the International Peace and Solidarity Committee of the National Council of the YCL
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